And just like that, summer in Seattle ended. That's how it felt, at least. After months of above-normal temperatures and more 80+-degree days than ever before, something in the air changed. One day it was warm (dare I say even hot), and the next it was foggy, a bit drizzly, and easily 20 degrees colder. Afterwards, there were a couple more glimmers of the summer-that-was, but I immediately felt the shift in the seasons, and there was no going back. Out came the sweaters and sweatshirts, worn even on forecasted warm days. I started wearing socks with my shoes again, and shook the dust off my favorite fall jackets.

But even as I pack up my tees to make room for more reasonable and increasingly necessary layers, I'm remembering that this summer was one for the books, for sure. Maybe because it seemed to start so early, avoiding the typical "June gloom," but it seems like I did more this summer than I have in a long time. I already wrote long posts about a few of the most significant parts of the summer (turning 30, backpacking in the Enchantments, and Ragnar), but there were a number of other adventures, too.

The summer started with Sasquatch over Memorial Day weekend, my first time back to the Gorge in five years. There were so many good bands playing, that I couldn't pass it up. Jenny Lewis, St. Vincent, The New Pornographers, MØ, Courtney Barnett, Sylvan Esso, Modest Mouse... It only could have been better if Neko Case had been there, too. Thankfully we stayed in a big condo in a newer part of Crescent Bar rather than the campground, so we were spoiled with a pool, actual beds, fancy breakfasts, and playing cards on the back deck. We did miss quite a few bands since we were never in much of a hurry to get to the amphitheater, but I saw that ones I really liked, was a foot away from Annie Clark crowdsurfing, and met Courtney Barnett.

This summer I found that I actually really like the 10k distance for races. My first ever was the Brooks 10k at the end of May, and I exceeded my expectations, despite not getting much training in beforehand. I didn't stop at all, and finished in under an hour (barely). I had never done a race with finisher medals before, so that was an added bonus. My second race, the Snoqualmie Valley 10k, was both good and bad. The good was that I hauled on that course, finishing second in my age group and 10th overall for women. The bad was that they didn't mark the course correctly, so it was 0.2 miles short. And I felt so good, too! Oh well. The age group medal is still valid.

This was also the first summer in 15 years that I got to go boating on Lake Washington! Our family friends have a boat, and normally they take it out when I'm either busy at work or without giving much notice. While both of those were true for this day, as well, I was still able to make it! The lake water was super warm, especially for June, so we jumped off the back of the boat in between beers and glasses of wine.

The Fourth of July was spent in Capitol Hill, beginning on Christina's rooftop and ending with karaoke at Rock Box. The fare was your typical Americana: tacos, tortilla chips and margaritas. The songs were mostly those from the 80s that I had never heard before.

I think I went to four Mariners games this year, and two were back-to-back in July. The first came with a tirade by Eric about how much the Mariners suck, complete with booing the home team and cheering for the Tigers. The second came with free seats, free food, and free beer. (And I think the Mariners won that one.)

2015 was finally (FINALLY!) the year I traded in my stylin' red PT Cruiser for something that suited me a little better. The PT was actually a better car than people give it credit for, so I was very particular about what I replaced it with. I wanted a similar amount of space without it being too big, and the Subaru Crosstrek was the perfect match. I got the Limited model loaded up on features, so hopefully it will last as long as the PT did. Once I got it back from the dealership after they fixed a scratch (big drama, not going there), I decided to take it for a mini road trip up to Bellingham. I had never been on Chuckanut Drive (except one small piece in May), and this seemed like a good occasion. My car also found its name on this trip: Monica. After my huge freak out from a bit of chai latte splatter, and due to the fact that I listened to the Best of Friends podcast during the whole trip, there was no other option.

Then there were all the other things I didn't have pictures from: girls' beach day, Lynn and Tim's anniversary party, Raj's birthday, Mariana's visit, Adrian's visit, #Blessed softball games... Lots of good times with fun people, for sure. Hopefully this fall will feature more of the same! (And maybe I'll get better at documenting, seeing as how all of the photos above with friends in them were taken from others' phones.)

I prefer beer over wine (and champagne over wine, for that matter), dogs over cats, guacamole over salsa and Red Vines over Twizzlers. I can usually be found reading, listening to music, at live shows, playing games or sports with friends, or hiking up a mountain.